Review

Review Summary: Simple, melodic, catchy, along with a decent gothic atmosphere creates a decent listen for a modern melodic death metal album that's not overly generic.

After the successful reception of Deadlight, the following year Before the Dawn re-entered the studio to record what is most arguably considered the changing force in the band’s sound from Gothic metal towards a modern melodic death metal sound. What that means is that the band shifted directions on their production route and made the guitars clearer in tone compared to the rest of their catalogue. Even then, that sound shift started back in Deadlight. Besides all that nonsense, Soundscape of Silence is just another straight forward Before the Dawn album. With the center-piece of concentration all being on a dark gothic atmosphere being within practically every song, though that doesn’t evade it from being catchy and sometimes even “poppy” sounding during certain clean sections. Yet, Tuomas Saukkonen’s death growls still show immense power from the beginning to the very end of the album with no sign of strain or weakness.

Like I said earlier, though Soundscape of Silence may be a straight forward Before the Dawn album, but there is still something about the album that separates itself from the others; Juho Räihä can be thanked for that separation in their sound. The lead guitarist took a broader approach towards his guitar skills and made the songs more enjoyable by adding solos and catchier guitar licks. Though Before the Dawn’s sound is no stranger to guitar solos; for the most part every album of theirs up to Deadlight had a very minimal amount of solos. This time around, Soundscape of Silence expands that aspect in their music that lacked throughout most of their career by adding a definite handful more of solos and melodic guitar riffs that keep the listener intent on listening from the start to finish.

However, the only addition to Before the Dawn’s sound on this album may be a clearer production on the overall sound, and a significant amount of additional guitar work. The formula might have changed a bit, but it’s not quite an extensive change in their sound. As I said before, Soundscape of Silence is just another straight forward metal album by these guys. Moreover, it delivers consistency and reasonable enjoyment despite its simplicity.